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New Albany mayoral primary candidate indicted on voter fraud charges

The Floyd County grand jury has indicted two men on voter fraud charges.

New Albany mayoral primary candidate indicted on voter fraud charges

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Updated: 6:57 AM EDT Sep 14, 2012

FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. —

The Floyd County grand jury has indicted two men on voter fraud charges.

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Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said the investigation began several months ago, when his office was informed by the Floyd County clerk and the election commission of alleged voting improprieties in the May 2011 Democratic mayoral primary in New Albany.

That led to an Indiana State Police investigation.

"This led over the last several months to many individuals being interviewed and ballots being viewed and seized,” Henderson said.

According to the indictment, Paul Etheridge, a candidate in the New Albany Democratic mayoral primary, knowingly forged or falsely made the official endorsement of the ballots of two women in March 2011. The indictment also alleges Etheridge solicited one of the women to complete the ballot, knowing she was ineligible to register to vote or to vote.

The indictment also claimed Etheridge delivered the ballots to the women to vote.

Separately, Joshua Clemons was indicted on charges he solicited two others to complete an absentee ballot knowing they were ineligible to register to vote or to vote and delivering the ballots to them to vote.

Clemons is also accused of forging or falsely making the official endorsement of a ballot of the two people.

Etheridge was a candidate for New Albany mayor in the primary. He came in third in the Democratic primary with 905 votes after Jeff Gahan (1,579 votes) and Irv Stumler (1,229 votes).

Henderson said the cases are separate and said the two men may not be connected, but both cases involve the same primary election.

Both men are charged with forgery of official ballot, solicitation for fraudulent ballot and fraudulent delivery of ballot, all class D felonies.